Windows Virtual PC and Win XP Mode Release Candidate

Windows Virtual PC (WVPC) is a client virtualization software, which can be used on Windows 7 to create multiple Virtual Machines (VMs), each running a different operating system (OS). WVPC can be obtained as a free download from Windows Virtual PC website. WVPC is the engine which supports Windows XP Mode, a pre-configured VM running Windows XP SP3 provided by Microsoft on Windows Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise SKUs.

Note that Windows Virtual PC only supports Windows 7 as the host platform, and in order to successfully use it you must have a computer that uses a virtualization-enabled technology by Intel (Intel VT) or AMD (AMD V).

Windows XP Mode is specially designed for small and medium-sized businesses to help ease the migration process to Windows 7 by providing additional compatibility for their older productivity applications.

As always, make sure to read the Release Notes and the Installation Guide before installing.

Note: You need to uninstall the Beta before installing the RC product binaries, upgrades aren’t supported.

Based on feedback they’ve received from the Windows XP Mode beta users, Microsoft has made several improvements to the usability of Windows XP Mode for small and medium-sized business users:

You can now attach USB devices to Windows XP Mode applications directly from the Windows 7 task-bar. This means your USB devices, such as printers and flash drives, are available to applications running in Windows XP Mode, without the need to go into full screen mode.

You can now access Windows XP Mode applications with a “jump-list”. Right click on the Windows XP Mode applications from the Windows 7 task bar to select and open most recently used files.

You now have the flexibility of customizing where Windows XP Mode differencing disk files are stored.

You can now disable drive sharing between Windows XP Mode and Windows 7 if you do not need that feature.

The initial setup now includes a new user tutorial about how to use Windows XP Mode.